Upsend wire-line carrier.



F. D. POWELL.

UPSEND WIRE LINE CARRSER.

APPLICAUON FILED DEC. 4. 1913.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

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FRANK D. POWELL, OF' BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAIVISONCOMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

UPSEND W'IRE-LIN E CARRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. itl, 1917.

Application filed December 4, 1913. Serial No. 804,768.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK D. POWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofltlassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inUpsend Wire- Line Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wire line carriers and more especially to whatI have termed an upsend carrier apparatus.

In stores, for example, where apparatus of this description may beinstalled it will be possible to serve an upper floor with carriers froma main or lower floor cash desk; and it is one of the objects of thepresent invention to provide a combination of ele-.

ments including a wire-line track, or its equivalent, adapted toefficiently accomplish this purpose.

The service in question may be at right angles to the main or lower wireline and the sub or clerk-station served may be at a level considerablyabove the sending or desk-station. For example, it has been foundpracticable to transmit carriers by apparatus of the type hereinaftermore particularly described, over a line 78 feet long with an 8 footrise to the upper or top sta tion.

A further and important object of my invention has been to provide novelmeans in apparatus of the type in question, for retaining the carriersat the upper station; which means while not preventing or evenmaterially impeding intentional despatch of carriers from said stationis nevertheless adapted to effectively prevent an inadvertcnt release ordespatch of the carrier.

These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter moreespecially referred to and the novel elements and combinations ofelements whereby said objects may be attained will be more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

ln the drawing which forms a part hereof and in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, l haveexemplified a preferred em bodiment of my invention; but as l am awarethat various changes and modifications may be made herein withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, I desire to 'be limited onlyby the scope of said claims broadly considered in the light of mydisclosure. j

Referring to the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an 11p-sendwire line apparatus. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line II--H of Fig. 1.Fig. 8 is a detail of the carrier latching mechanism disposed at theupper station, a carrier being in place therein. Fig. 4 is a fragmentaryplan View of a por tion of a suitable propelling device. Fig. 5 is asection of Fig. 1 taken on line VV showing the forward end of saidpropelling device. Fig. 6 is a detail section of a portion of the tracktaken on line VI-VI of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a. detail section taken on lineVIIVH of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a detail section taken on line VIII- VIH ofFig. 2. Fig. 9 is a detail of a pulley block shown in Fig. 1, and Fig.10 is a detail of a fragment of the track at the upper station, showinga friction piece or tube thereon; the fragment being viewed from theline X-X in Fig. 1. In so far as the construction of the lower station,broadly designated 1, is concerned, it may be of any suitabledescription adapted to eectively propel the carrier broadly designated 2along the track 3 toward and up to station t.

In the present instance station 1 comprises the usual hanger 5 and itsbracket 6 pivotally or otherwise connected to the end of the hanger andserving as a support for the lower end of the track 8.

The station may be provided with the usual handle 7 connected to thepropelling cord 8 which in turn may be connected to a frame 9, guidedlymovable upon rods 10 and the forward extremity of which is provided witha cross-head 11 to which are connected the extremities of a cord 12which extend forwardly therefrom around pulleys 13, back to therespective pulleys 14- inounted on said head; said cords thenceextending forwardly again and around pulleys 15 and finally rearwardlyagain to provide the usual carrier engaging loop 12.

Pulleys or idlers 13 and 15 may be mount ed upon a somewhat U shapedblock 16 secured to the outer extremities of the rods 10.

When handle 7 is drawn down a short dis tance the spring 17 in thetubular portion of frame 9, which is normally compressed when thecarrier is at the station, transmits the propelling impulse to the frame9 to retract the latter and owing to the disposition of the cord 12 andits Vsevera-l pulleys, the loop in said cord travels through aconsiderable distance and propels the carrier 2, then in its dotted lineposition, outwardly along track 3.

Track 3 is preferably connected to bracket 6 through the intermediaey ofa bumper block 6 which may be provided with the usual pawl and ratchet18 by means of which the track is given the desired tension.

Above the track 3 is disposed a taut wire 19 which may becorrespondingly connected to bracket 6 through the intermediacy of thepawl and ratchet 18 and ratchet block 21; this latter also servingconveniently to support the pulley or idler 22 around which passes Vthecord 8.

Suitably mounted, as by means of a hanger 23 and brace 24, below theflooring or platform 25 of the station 4 is an arcuate track support 26,the cross section of which aoV may be T shaped, as shown in Fig. 6.Riveted to the outer side of this support is a strip or plate 27 ofsheet metal or the like, disposed so as to expose one edge thereof; thisedgeY being curled or bent around as at 27 toiiniclose the curvedportion of the wire track so that at this portion the curled edge of thestrip actually provides the track surface upon which the carrier rideswhen passing around the bend leading up to station 4.

The hanger 23 and its brace 24 may be suitably connected to the support26 by means of brackets 28 and 29, the latter being preferably pivotallyconnected to the respective extremities of the hanger 23 and brace 24 asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The taut wire 19 also extends around andupwardly adjacent to the support 26 and may be connected thereto bybracket 30, passing thence around by a series of abrupt bends tosuccessively engage portions 31 of the brackets 28 and 29, which areadapted to receive said wire 19; then through bracket 32, and upto thecap or frame 33 which is supported upon uprights 34 at the station 4.Track 3 after it emerges from the curled edge of strip 27 passesupwardly and is attached to a bumper block 35 which in turn is pivotallyconnected to the frame 33, above referred to.

About the upper end of the wire track, adjacent the bumper 35, is afriction tube 36, the function of which is to check an up wardly movingcar by engaging the friction block 37 commonly provided upon cars ofthis description. It will be understood, of course, that other means maybe employed to arrest the upwardly moving carrier but I prefer to use atype of car which is already upon the market. The friction tube alsocoacts with the block 37 to prevent the carrier, when at station 4, fromdropping too freely, and if the frictionally engaged parts be not badlyworn they will of themselves, usually yprevent the inadvertentre-despatch of the carrier from the station, by gravity. I prefer toprovide more positive means for this purpose, however, which will behereinafter described, the friction means of themselves not beingpositive.

The carrier shown comprises the usual detachable cash box 2, wheels,etc.; the block 37 engaging one side of the tube or thickened track 36and pressing it against the outer pair of wheels by the action of itsspring 37. The lower end of tube 36 may be coned, as at 36', to enablethe carrier to freely ride up thereupon, and a strip 38 is attached by aclip 39 to the lower extremity of said tube. This strip may beconveniently fastened at its upper end to the frame 35 and serves as alsupport for the positive carrier retaining means above referred to. Thismeans coniprises a somewhat zig-zag shaped element l0 which has at itslower extremity a lip -41, preferably of fiber, adapted to engage thelower lug-shaped corner 42 of the carrier, to thereby' latch the sameagainst inadvertent downward movement. When these parts are in suchengagement the V-shaped middle portion 40 of the element 40 is disposedbe- .tween the outer pair of wheels of the carrier,

as shown in Fig. 3. rlhe lip 41 normally is given a bias toward itscarrier latching position, as for example, by means of a spring 43 whichpresses against the upper end of the element 40 and which is affixed toa bracket 44 secured to the strip 38, above referred to, at a convenientlevel. lVhen av carrier has been arrested in the position of that shownin Fig. 1 and the friction parts fail to hold it in such position, as byreason of vibration in the line wire, or from other cause, said carrierwill gradually slide downwardly until its first or forward outer wheelencounters the upper surface of the V-shaped part 40. rFhe element 40will thereby be driven slowly outwardly until the said first wheel hascleared the V-shaped part, whereupon the lip 41 will be moved inwardlytoward the carrier, in the present instance, by the spring 43, intolocking or latching'engagement with tho nose or corner 42. As a, result,further downward movement of the carrier is positively prevented but thecarriei` may' be released for the purpose of despatching it to the lowerstation by merely raising it until its said lower wheel is again aboveor operatively engaged with the part 40', when, if the carrier be drivendownwardly with abruptness, or at a velocity in excess of a determinedamount, its lower wheel will drive outwardly the latching element andits nose or element 42, which is mounted to adapt it for reciprocatorymovement, will clear th(` lip 41 before the latter has had anopportunity by reason of its inertia to swing back into its latchingposition. Thereafter the carrier will continue downwardly around thecurved portion of the track and thence along the horizontal portion ofthe track 3 to station 1. At the latter station the momentum of thecarrier is gradually checked as the loop 12 of the cord 12 is drawntoward the bracket 6; the frame 9 being correspondingly, but in suchless degree, moved toward the cross head 16, thereby compressing thelight spring 1?, since the handle 7 will at such time be in engagementwith the bracket 6. The friction block of the carrier will in the lastportion of its movement engage a friction tube 45 and the carrier willcome to rest against the bumper carried by the block 6.

To rcdespatch the carrier to station 4 the handle 7 is pulled sharplydownwardly whereupon the carrier will be drawn out of engagement withthe friction tube 45 and will be projected along the track 3 withsuiicient force to impel it upwardly around the curved track, on to thefriction tube 36, so that it will normally come to rest substantially inthe position in which it is shown in Fig. 1. rThe frame 9 will then bein its rearmost position, but the spring 17 will expand as soon as thehandle 7 is released and will retract the latter substantially to itsupper position. rllhe latching device will oH'er no material resistanceto the ascending carrier but will invariably arrest inadvertent downwardmovement thereof after the nose 42 of the carrier has cleared the lip41, so that even if the carrier should not have been impelled withsufficient force to drive it up above the bracket 44, the carrier willbe latched, if it be not frictionally held, if it shall only have movedupwardly but a short distance upon the friction tube 36.

1t will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple carrier latchingmechanism which, while adapted to effectively hold a carrier at astation, is nevertheless adapted to release the carrier merely by theaction 'of grasping the carrier itself and moving it up before giving ita thrust in the direction in which it is to travel, if the carrier be inactual latching engagement, at its forward extremity, with the lip 41.Obviously if it be above the latch a suflicient distance to insure theproper lateral displacement of waid lip by its forward wheel, it may bethii'ust directly downward for despatch, without having to first elevateit.

l particularly direct attention to the combin ation of elements presentin the exempliiied construction whereby in such preferred apparatus itis necessary to propel the carrier past a determined point in thc Atrack(i. c., that where the carrier front wheel clears or substantiallyclears the operating part 40 of the latching mechanism) at a `velocityin excess of a determined amount or speed; since otherwise the lip 41will have time to move back into its latching position. In other wordsthe carrier, which when not being intentionally despatched isconstrained by the engagement of the friction pieces 3G and to move, ifit moves at all, in a determined manner or slowly down toward the lip 41is nevertheless capable of being despatched by being thrust rapidlydownwardly by hand through a short path, the length of which is from thesaid determined point to the point at which the forward end of thecarrier can no longer be operatively engaged by the lip 41.

rfhe novel means for stiening the wire track at the curve are of valuein that they not only support the track at this point but preventdistortion thereof by thc inertia of the rapidly moving carrier.

.Finally it will be noted that the carrier is laterally guided in itsupper or down movements, while at the upper station, by the engagementof the guide rods 46 with the portion of the frame thereof which carriesthe cash receptacle 2'; since it is dcsi rable to definitely positionthe carrier with respect to the latch at the upper station and thisdisposition of the guides permits of the employment of carriers now incommon use without necessitating any modification thereof.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. ln store service apparatus, the combination of a high level stationand a low level station with a carrier, a track between said stationshaving an upwardly directed curve therein around which said carrier maytravel, means for propelling said carrier along said track from thestation at the lower level around said curve to the station at thehigher level, and means at the high level station for latching itagainst inadvertent downward displacement, said latching means havingprovisions for automatically releasing said carrier when the carrieritself is alone engaged by the hand of the operator and actuated todespatch the same.

2. In store service apparatus, the combination of a station with atrack, a carrier adapted to travel along said track, means for lockingsaid carrier against inadvertent despatch from said station along saidtrack, and co-acting means for rendering said locking means inoperativeto retain said carrier, only when said carrier ispropelled past adetermined point in said track at a velocity in excess of a determinedamount.

3. 1n store service apparatus, the combination of a track with a carrierand means for holding said carrier against despatch along said trackunless said carrier is propelled past a determined point in said trackat a velocity in excess of a determinedf amount, said holding meanshaving a carrier engaged part operative to free the car` rier engagingthe same from the restraining action'o't said holding means, only whensaid carrier is propelledV past said point in said track in manneraforesaid, said carrier being out of engagement with said part after itleaves said point in said track.

4;. In store service apparatus, the combination ot' a track with acarrier and means for holdingV said carrier against despatch along saidtrack unless said carrier is propelled past a determined point in saidtrack atY a velocity in excess of a determined amount, said holdingmeans having an operating part adapted tor engagement with said carrierbefore the latter reaches said point, said operating part having a biastor a determined position and being displaced from said position by thepassing carrier.

5. In store service apparatus, the combination of a track with acarrier, and means for holding said carrier against movement along saidtrack in a determined direction, when said carrier is in actualengagement with said holding means, until said carrier has lirst beenmoved in a direction opposite that aforesaid and thereafter driven insaid determined direction at a speed in excess ot' a determined amount.v

6. In store service apparatus, the combination ot a track with acarrier, and means tor holding said carrier against despatch along saidtrack unless said carrier is propelled past a determined point in saidtrack at a velocity in excess oit a determined amount, said track beingdisposed to cause gravity to tend to despatch said carrier.

7. In store service apparatus, the combination or' a track with acarrier, means for holding Vsaid carrier against despatch along saidtrack unless said carrier is propelled past a determined point in saidtrack at a velocity in excess of a determined amount, and provisions fornormally preventing said carrier when moving toward said point, in adirection to despatch said carrier, from moving with a velocity as greatas the determined velocity aforesaid.

8. In store service apparatus, the combination of a track with acarrier, means for holding said carrier against despatch along saidtrack unless said carrier is propelled past a determined point in saidtrack at a velocity in excess of a determined amount, and rictionallyacting means for normally preventing said carrier when moving towardsaid point, in a direction to despatch said carrier, from moving with avelocity as great as the determined velocity attoresaid.

9. In store service apparatus, a track, a carrier to travel thereon, alatch for said carrier, and means to yieldingly support saidlatch toallow it to be swung side- Wise when said carrier is traveling in onedirection and to cause it to latch said carrier when it is traveling ina determined manner in the other direction, said latch supporting meanshaving a carrier actuated part for preventing the latching ot thecarrier when traveling in said other direction in a manner other thanthat aforesaid.

10. In store service apparatus, a track, a carrier to travel thereon, alatch for said carrier, means to yieldingly support said latch to allowit to be swung sidewise when said carrier is traveling in one directionand to cause it to latch said carrier when it is traveling in adetermined manner in the other direction, and means ior insuring thatsaid carrier, if traveling at all in said other direction, shall travelin said determined manner except when being intentionally despatchedalong said track.

1l. In store service apparatus, a track, a carrier to travel thereon, alatch for said carrier, and means to yieldingly support said latch toallow it to be swung sidcwisc when said carrier is t aveling in onedirection and to cause it to latch said carrier when it is traveling inthe other direction, said latch supporting means having provisions forreleasing said carrier from the action thereof by a sudden thrust uponsaid carrier in the direction in which it is to travel .and through apath oi determined length in which, while traversing said path, saidcarrier is still subject to the latching action it its progress bestopped.

l. In a store service apparatus, an upwardly extending track, a carrierto travel thereon, a latching device near the upper end of said trackbeyond which, however, said carrier may travel, and separate means forchecking the upward progress ot the carrier, said latching deviceadapted to hold said carrier against inadvertent downward despatch.

18. In store service'apparatus, a track leading downwardly from astation at a higher level to one at a lower level, a arrier adapted totravel along said track, and yielding means having a part adapted toengage said carrier to hold it at the upper station, said means having asecond part adapted to be pressed aside by the carrier when the latteris thrust downwardly thereagainst, said second part being operativelyconnected to said irst part to, at such time, move the latter to itscarrier releasing position, and means at said lower station torpropelling the carrier up past said first mentioned part.

14C. In store service apparatus, a station,

a wire track leading therefrom and curved in a portion thereof, a curvedstrip having a portion thereoi bent around the curved portion of thetrack throughout substantially the length thereof, auxiliary meansforstitfening both the wire track and said strip at said curve, a travelalong said track and means for said track.

15.1n store service apparatus, a track leading down from an upper to alower sta* tion, said track having a curve therein, a carrier providedwith a receptacle and adapted to travel along said track, means forpropelling said carrier from said lower station around said curve tosaid upper station, means for retaining said carrier at said upperstation against the action of gravity, and guides for engaging saidcarrier upon the receptacle side thereof to definitely position saidcarrier at the upper station, with respect to said curve.

16. ln store service apparatus, the combination of a track with acarrier, and means for holding said carrier against movement along thetrack in a determined direction, said means having provisions to releasesaid carrier by an engagement of a part of said carrier therewith, saidpart being other than that which is directly held by said means when thecarrier is held against movement in said determined direction.

17. In a store service apparatus, an upcarrier adapted to around saidcurve, propelling said carrier along @optent of this patent may beobtained for ave cents each, by addressingf wardly extending track, acarrier to travel thereon, and a latching device near the upper end ofsaid track beyond which, however, said entire carrier may travel, saidlatching device adapted to hold said carrier against inadvertentdownward despatch.

18. In store service apparatus, the combi* nation of a high levelstation and a low level station with a carrier, an upwardly extendedtrack between said stations along which said carrier may travel, meansfor propelling said carrier along said track from the station at thelower level to the station at the higher level, and means at the highlevel station for latching said carrier against inadvertent downwarddisplacement, said latching means having provisions for automaticallyreleasing said carrier when the carrier itself is alone engaged by thehand of the operator and actuated to despatch the same.

In testimony whereof l have affixed my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK D. POWELL.

Witnesses:

S. B. PITMAN, N. L. DONAHUE.

the Commissioner at Patents.

Washington, D. G.

